PERSONAL COMPUTERS

PERSONAL COMPUTERS; Newcomers to Internet Need Combat Training

By PETER H. LEWIS

Published: May 3, 1994

DEAR Mr. Power Luser:

I just got an account on America Online so I can explore the Internet and have all sorts of fascinating discussions with people on their bulletin boards. What is the first thing I need to do? 2400 BAUD

Dear Ms. Baud:

Mr. Power Luser suggests investing in some asbestos gloves and a welder's mask, because your computer is almost certainly going to be receiving some "flames" from the cranky folks on the Internet. The same advice applies to those of you on Prodigy, Compuserve and Delphi who either have or will soon have access to the global computer network.

It has come to Mr. Power Luser's attention recently that the millions of computer users who are now connected to the Internet, and particularly the network known as Usenet, are not at all pleased by the recent arrival of several million new visitors who have not yet been assimilated into the "net" culture.

They express this displeasure by sending electronic mail messages to the newcomers, often using colorful phrases and terms that surprised Mr. Power Luser with their richly evocative earthiness. In the parlance of the network culture, such messages are called "flames."

These flames should not be alarming to anyone who has completed basic training at Fort Benning, but those readers who possess a delicate disposition could find them overly stimulating.

As a new visitor to the Internet -- or, in the delightful argot of cyberspace, a "clueless newbie" -- it might be wise to participate passively for a while before you send your first message or post your first question to a news group.

After a while you will certainly feel comfortable joining in the scintillating conversations of such news groups as "sci.history.mesoamerica" and "alt.tv.beavis-and-butthead." In time, you may even get the chance to "flame" someone else!

Dear Mr. Power Luser:

Hey, I'm psyched that America Online now has Internet connections. What can I do with the Internet?

CLUELESS NEWBIE

Dear Mr. Newbie:

Please forgive Mr. Power Luser while he searches for his Valium.

Ah, much better.

The recent connection of America Online and other commercial online information services to the Internet has opened the rich resources of the information superhighway to millions of people such as yourself.

You'll not have many of the "power" tools needed to explore some of the more esoteric regions of the Internet -- for such travels you would need a special connection to the Internet, rather than a "gateway" service like America Online -- but you will be able to participate in Usenet news groups.

The Usenet is one of the larger networks among thousands that compose the Internet. It is an unregulated area that consists of literally thousands of "news groups," where people exchange messages on topics of interest to them. If you can think of something (a prospect Mr. Power Luser finds unlikely), there is probably a news group formed around it.

Another of the first things you'll want to do is to exchange electronic mail with people on other networks. Your current E-mail address automatically becomes an Internet address with the addition of the characters "@aol.com."

For example, if your America Online account name was "clueless," you are now "clueless@aol.com." If you are a member of other services, you might be "clueless@compuserve.com" or "CLUE99S@prodigy.com."

Mr. Power Luser anticipates that your next question might be, "How do I go about meeting people with whom I can correspond?" His answer is, "Don't worry, they'll find you."

Dear Mr. Power Luser:

Testing, testing, 1-2-3. I just got an America Online account and want to know how to send letters to the Internet. PARTY ANIMAL Dear Mr. Animal: